Demonstrators rally in downtown Houston over Jordan Baker decision

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Dozens of people angry over a recent grand jury decision marched and demanded justice in downtown Houston on Monday

Protesters are angry a grand jury refused to charge a Houston police officer for the shooting death of an unarmed black man. They gathered on the steps of the Harris County courthouse, where a grand jury last week decided to no-bill an HPD officer who fatally shot Jordan Baker back in January.

"This is a national issue. This is going on in places, not just here in Houston, not just Ferguson," said Durrell Douglas with Houston Justice. "This is going on every day. We have to have justice reform. The system is broken and we're not going to stop until something's done about it."

Police were expecting a much larger crowd, maybe in the neighborhood of 500 to 600 people. In all, about 100 people showed up.

The Harris County grand jury returned its decision in the case of HPD Officer Juventino Castro last Tuesday. Castro shot and killed Baker on Jan. 16. Castro was off-duty but in uniform, working an extra security job at a strip mall where there had been several robberies.

Castro attempted to stop Baker, who briefly struggled with the officer and then began running, Houston police said at the time.

Department spokesman Kese Smith said Baker "put his hands in his waistband, crouches down, charges the officer and tells the officer, 'I told you I am not going to jail.'" Castro fired once, striking Baker.

Baker's mother, Janet, contended that Castro wrongly profiled her son as a criminal wearing a hoodie. She's been backed by activists staging rallies about the case.

"I intend to seek justice for Jordan," Baker's mother said as she left the grand jury waiting room last week. "We just have a lot of work to do."

According to the prosecutor on the case, three grand jurors were African-American, one Hispanic, one Asian and seven white. There were eight women and 4 men. They did not want the Harris County District Attorney's Office to release the breakdown of their vote.